A small rock in the Atlantic: 26/12/2010

Friday 31 December 2010

Fireworks in Santa Cruz de la Palma, New year, 2010

Santa Cruz de la Palma, Los Llanos, and most big villages will have a public dance to celebrate new year. In some cases, that blocks the traffic. For example, Santa Cruz's main road along the sea front will be shutting at 10 pm. (If you need to get through, use the bypass inland.) Many people dress up - I mean really dress up, as though they were going to the opera at Covent Garden. At midnight, people traditionally eat one grape for each "boing" of the clock. If you manage all twelve on schedule, it's supposed to bring good luck, or prosperity, or something. (It usually gives me indigestion.) People drink champagne, and every town hall on the island lets off fireworks.

We'll be partying at home, and enjoying the fireworks from the balcony.

I hope 2011 brings all my readers whatever they most wish for. It should bring my first e-book to market - a guide to the Roque de Los Muchachos observatory.

Happy New Year!

Labels: fiestas

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Tuesday 28 December 2010

Holy Innocents on La Palma

The 28th of December is Holy Innocents’ Day, which commemorates the massacre of the innocents by Herod in Matthew’s gospel (although according to Wikipedia, it’s probably not a historical event). In Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, it’s the Spanish equivalent of April Fool’s Day.

For example, one year I told my husband that the police had been around asking whether he'd been jogging in the nude. Now my husband does go jogging, but not in the nude -- although sometimes he goes topless. Anyway, I said the police had had complaints about him jogging nude, and wanted to talk to him urgently, and I'd like it cleared up too, because I found the whole thing terribly embarrassing. And I kept it going for about ten minutes before I collapsed into giggles.

So watch out today.

Labels: fiestas